Win or perish for Delhi Daredevils
Match facts
Saturday, May 24, 2008Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)
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The Big Picture
With the IPL moving towards the last leg of league games, things are more desperate for Delhi Daredevils than they are for Mumbai Indians. A defeat will send Delhi hurtling out of the tournament, but a victory for them will suddenly put the pressure back on Mumbai, who will then need to win both their remaining matches to make it to the semi-finals.The two teams have had contrasting journeys so far: Delhi began in style, winning four of their first five games, but have since gone off the boil, winning just two of the last eight. Mumbai, on the other hand, made a disastrous start, losing their first four matches, but then won six in a row and were just two runs away from seven successive victories.
Both teams have a top-heavy batting line-ups and one outstanding new-ball bowler, and how Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock match up against Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Glenn McGrath could well decide which way the match turns. Mumbai's support cast, though, has contributed more consistently - Dhawal Kulkarni, Ashish Nehra and the now-absent Dwayne Bravo have been among the wickets, while Abhishek Nayar and Robin Uthappa have contributed useful runs. Delhi have the big names in their middle order - AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan are both free-stroking batsmen - but neither has found his range in the IPL.
To make matters more uncertain for both teams, the unseasonal Delhi rains threaten to disrupt the action, with forecasts for more showers on Saturday. A washout will mean Mumbai will only need to win one of their last two games to push Delhi out of contention.
Tournament position
Delhi Daredevils: P13, W6, L6, NR1, NRR +0.350Mumbai Indians: P11, W6, L5, NRR +0.663
Form (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Delhi Daredevils: WLWLLMumbai Indians: LWWWW
Watch out for ...
Team news
Mumbai's batting is fairly settled, but on a small ground and in conditions which might remain wet, there's little chance of them persisting with two spinners - Vikrant Yeligati and Siddharth Chitnis, both offspinners, leaked runs in their previous game against Punjab. Dominic Thornely's medium-pace could come in handy in these conditions, while Dhawal Kulkarni should return. If Thornely plays, Dwayne Smith could miss out despite a reasonably impressive IPL debut against Punjab.Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Sachin Tendulkar (capt), 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Abhishek Nayar, 5 Dominic Thornely, 6 Gaurav Dhiman, 7 Shaun Pollock, 8 Pinal Shah (wk), 9 Dilhara Fernando, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Dhawal Kulkarni.
Delhi's middle order has been a worry throughout the tournament, but they're unlikely to tinker too much with the line-up. Their bowlers set up the victory against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in their previous match, and the only disappointment was Rajat Bhatia, who could face the axe for this key clash.
Delhi Daredevils (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Pradeep Sangwan, 11 Glenn McGrath.
Stats and trivia
Quotes
"I think the experience factor was lacking in the top order and Shaun and Sanath had too much responsibility on their shoulders. Now that I'm back, the responsibility got shared among us."Sachin Tendulkar reckons his team has got it just right ahead of the big game.
"Playing with Sehwag has always been a great experience as he takes the pressure off me. We both are stroke players and when we go out to open the innings we have just one thing in mind, to give a good start, and that's what we have tried to do right through the tournament."
Gautam Gambhir on being part of one of the most formidable opening pairs in the IPL.
S Rajesh is stats editor of Cricinfo